--that must have been an unfortunate coincidence for Demon King Gandalf as well.

　A single thorn of magic power pierced the defensive wall generated by Luke of the White Wolf Forest.

　Its sharp tip pierced Luke's right eye socket, splitting like a root and destroying the inside of his skull.

　A crumbling barrier.
　Luke didn't even scream, he fell from his back to the hard floor.

'...... eh?'

　Unable to understand - or subconsciously refusing to understand - what was happening in front of him, Garnett let out a small mutter.

'Hey ...... Luke?'

　There was no response to the call.

　With his remaining left eye, he looked up at the ceiling vacantly, and without even writhing, he simply continued to pour fresh blood from his right eye socket.

'Don't be a joke ...... what are you doing, hey ...... hey ......'

　Garnett kneeled beside the unconscious Luke, looking down in dismay at his face, which was losing its life with each passing second.

　The truth is, I know what's going on.
　He even had the composure not to shake his body ineffectively to prevent the wound from getting worse.

　The experience he has accumulated as a Knight of the Silver Wing is not so sweet that he cannot understand the current situation in front of him.

　That experience tells me.
　This is an unmistakable fatal wound - an injury that is as close to instant death as possible.

　Ruptured eyeball. A fractured bone plate in the back of the eye socket. The spikes of magic power reached the inside of the skull, where they spread their sharp "roots" and damaged the "contents".

　I've gained experience in dealing with human death to the extent that I can analyze it at a glance, but I can't admit it.

　However, he was unable to admit it.
　I couldn't accept it.

"No, you don't ...... that's my job, ...... so why are you, why are you ......

　Same thing happened to my mother.
　A special person was used as a shield and killed to protect the likes of me.

"Why, so ...... why not me again? ......

　She clenched her teeth, twisted her face in anguish, and ruffled her hair.

　The tears I had once made up my mind not to shed since I lost my mother, poured out endlessly as if they were a dam.

　It's just like the blood flowing down from Luke's right eye.

　My tense heart is crumbling away.
　The determination that had been holding back the tears is rotting away.

　How much easier it would have been if I had just lost my mind.

　How much relief it would have been if I could throw away everything, reason and all, and escape into the world of dreams and visions.

　But the existence of a certain demon tribe does not allow me to do so.

''Utterly unlucky. It doesn't matter how much you try to control it, it's useless.

　The Demon King Gandalf said with a sigh.

''It's no use. It was best to use the corpse as material. It would have been best if we could have used them alive.
Get away from me.

　To the Demon King Gandalf, who was trying to walk up to him while speaking as if he were someone else, Garnett turned the tip of his mithril sword.

　It's a good thing that you're able to have a good time with them.

I'm not going to let you touch me. I will not let you lay a finger on me, even if it costs me my life.

　You can't get away from the fact that you're not going to be able to get a good deal more than you'd like.

　I'm sure that as long as I'm here, I won't be allowed to have an easy escape. It's a good thing that you're not the only one.

　It's a good idea to have a good time with them.

I don't give a shit.

　The Demon King Gandalf takes another step forward.

　In the next moment, Garnett closed the gap with unnoticeable speed and slashed at the Demon King from the front.

　However, the blade is easily prevented by the magic barrier deployed in a minimal area.

''It's really an easy to read tachi-suji. Has your technique slowed down in anger?　Or ......
"Oh, whoa!

　The slashes that were unleashed one after another, the precise magic defense wall continued to defend every single shot.

　You can find a lot of people in the world who have a lot of questions about this.

''Do you want to be ...... martyred to death? You should have killed yourself gracefully. I don't want any trouble.

　Stitching between slashes, the demon king waved his hand lightly as if to dispel the void.

　Beyond that, Garnett's right arm popped and hung down, nearly torn from his two arms.

''Gah! ......!''
I don't need you. But I will give you mercy. Go after him.

　Magical bullets of tremendous magical density are released from close range.

　Bones were broken, guts were crushed, and the slender body was blown backwards.

　If he wasn't wearing a dragonskin robe, his torso would have been split in half, a destructive force that wouldn't be surprising if he wasn't wearing a dragonskin robe.

'White wolf's ...... bad, ole ......

　The words that escaped from his mouth along with the blood-repulsion were words of apology to the special man he had failed to protect.

　A single spike of magical power is shot down at the garnet, which is falling in a gentle arc.

　There is no way to avoid it or prevent it.

　It will probably be stabbed through at the same time as it crashes to the floor, and it will probably be suffocated by the same magic as Luke's.

　And Garnett had accepted it from the bottom of his heart.

　There was no way he was going to survive unceremoniously, nor did he want to survive.

　Just being able to die the same way would be a great way to end up incompetent for failing to protect the people he wanted to protect.

　Gently closing my eyelids and waiting for the fall to the cold, hard floor--

"...... eh ......

　--but what greeted Garnet was a feeling that was much softer than the floor, much more bony than I was, and much more enveloping than I was.

　The arm thrust out over his shoulder intercepted the spine of magic power, and it [disintegrated] from near the palm of his hand, making it disappear without a trace.

　And the magic power pouring out from the arms that held Garnett back, [repair] the painfully injured body.

''Ah...... ah...... ah...... ah......''

　No words come out.
　All sorts of cries are spun in my head, but none of them are voiceless and disappear.

　Instead, tears pour out one after another, dripping and spattering drops on the floor.

　I was surprised that there were still so many tears left in my body.

　They didn't overflow from a heart chilled with despair and sadness, but from a warm, hot, trembling heart.

　I wanted to turn around immediately.
　But I couldn't turn around, all I could do was look down.

Thank goodness you made it to ...... in time.
"...... What are you doing, you dumbass ......?

　I hear a gentle whispering voice, and I feel an extra flood of emotions.

　I can't show you my face like this, but I can't.

　I'm not this miserable and weak when I'm in front of him.